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Asian in Austin is a podcast by Minh Vu and Sandra Pham to elevate the voices and stories of Asian Americans living in Austin, Texas while exploring what it means to come into one's own Asian American identity and experience by inviting open dialogue and conversation with community members.
Sandra P.: Hey y'all, I'm Sandra Pham.
Minh V.: And I'm Minh Vu.
Welcome to Asian in Austin.
Food.
I feel like we've had a few episodes
now related to food and honestly
That excites me because I think we
are finding more and more kind of
evolution of what the scene looks like
in Austin in the last couple of years.
And it's been really fun to learn
a little bit more about people's
inspirations and things like that.
But, yeah, I'm curious for you Sandra,
I know you are a tough critic when
it comes to Austin's Asian food,
especially coming from Houston.
Yeah, what are your thoughts these days?
Sandra P.: Yeah, I think it's just
really encouraging that chefs,
particularly as, as big as the one
that we have as a guest this month,
have found Austin attractive and want
to kind of build a community here.
And specifically when it comes
to Asian American food, right?
Like we often see very new American
and all of these other genres,
fusions and things like that.
And, but it's, it's really
just nice to see that.
Asian American food is being elevated
to the level that it should be.
And I particularly am just excited.
I do think we often talk about food
with our guests, even if they're not,
you know, in a food career, because
it is just such a common thread, I
think, in the Asian American Diaspora.
I think we recognize it's how we
connect to each other to our families
is such a big staple as part of our
culture and shows up in various ways.
So I'm thrilled that we get to talk about
it a little bit more in depth with someone
who is a professional in this field.
Minh V.: Yeah, beautifully said.
I mean, I think food as a love language
feels really relevant to the diaspora
and thinking about the times that
we've talked about cutting fruit or
our parents cutting fruit for us.
And like, maybe they don't say I
love you directly, but they will.
Come with a fresh bowl of fruit
that they've just labored over to
give for us or meals at that too.
So yeah, I'm really excited.
I'll share a little bit more
about Chef Harold's bio and
we'll get into the interview.
Harold Villarosa is an executive
chef, entrepreneur, and proven
leader in creating social impact.
Born in the Philippines and raised
in the South Bronx, he hustled his
way from working in fast food to
landing spots at Michelin rated
restaurants in NYC, as well as the
number one rated NOMA in Copenhagen.
He earned his first executive chef
position at Freeman's Restaurant, a
hidden gem at the end of Freeman's
Alley in the Lower East Side.
In 2013, Chef Harold launched his non
profit, Insurgo Project, to mentor and
teach kids from his neighborhood about the
opportunities in the restaurant industry.
He took the program globally
and served as the U.
S.
Culinary Ambassador of Denmark,
Romania, and the Bahamas.
Harold has been featured in numerous
media outlets over the years, including
Vice's "Munchies," NY1, where he
was named the 'New Yorker of the
Week', and also with Bon Appétit.
Chef Harold recently moved to
Austin and is opening up a new
concept on the east side this fall.
A celebration of Asian cultures
filtered through a Texas prism.
We're gonna take today's episode
to learn a little bit more about
his inspiration and what to look
out for coming this fall from him.
Let's get into it.
Hey, Chef Harold.
Welcome.
Sandra P.: We are so thrilled to have
you on the Asian in Austin podcast.
How are you doing?
Chef Harold: Well,
thank you for having me.
I appreciate it.
Sandra P.: Yeah, of course.
So we like to, when we invite
our guest, give them an
opportunity to do a quick intro.
So if you don't mind sharing your
ethnicities, your pronouns, and any
other identities that you want to share.
Chef Harold: Sure.
My name is Harold Villarosa.
I'm from the Philippines.
I grew up in the South
Bronx, New York City.
Pronoun is a he.
And now I currently live in Austin, Texas.
Sandra P.: Awesome.
And welcome to Austin.
So we've received a bit of exciting news.
You recently became a father.
So tell us how has that
been and congratulations.
Chef Harold: I appreciate it.
I mean, it still hasn't
really kind of sunk in yet.
You know, I'm just going
through the motions.
I'm being super supportive to
his mom and just, you know, just
making sure that she's okay.
So it's been good.
I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm about to be 40.
In February, so I think it's perfect
timing in that sense, especially with
my career now and all these things.
So I'm I'm I'm excited.
Sandra P.: Yeah, we're so excited for you.
I know not only that, but you
have a ton of new projects.
So kind of jumping in here for those that
are not familiar with Chef Harold here.
You have a very impressive career from
going to fast food to even working at
Noma, one of the best restaurants in the
world, for those that aren't familiar,
but I'd love for you to share in a way
that feels the most comfortable to you,
your career, how did, how did you go from
fast food from the Bronx to this amazing
career that you've, you've really been
able to build and where you are today?
And are there any just
really big career moments?
Thanks.
Chef Harold: Yeah, I mean, I've been super
lucky in my career to be in a period of
time where cooking was such a, it wasn't
like, you know, Anthony Bourdain's time
where it was like a rock and roll type
thing, like my time that I came up, it
was very much whoever wanted to be a chef
was like really into becoming a chef.
We call it the golden
era, you know what I mean?
So around that time, um, And
I had an opportunity to, like,
talk to some great people.
They gave me a checklist to follow.
So I started working in
McDonald's when I was 15.
And I worked in all the fast
foods in New York to Starbucks
to, uh, you know, White Castle.
And just doing it to survive
and buy clothes and sneakers
just like any other young kid.
But I think I really got into it is
when I realized that college wasn't
for me, you know, sitting in class
and like I had this crazy ADHD.
So I'm super lazy.
I can't even read my
handwriting sometimes.
So it was like such a waste of
time, just paying for semesters
and community college to.
Ivy League, you know,
all type of stuff, man.
And so I just decided to, you know,
really pursue cooking and, and force
myself to fall in love with it and
force myself to be passionate about it.
You know what I mean?
It was kind of a do or die kind of thing.
Like if I don't do good in this thing,
like I might just be a bum in the streets.
You know what I mean?
So, I kind of forced myself into it.
I found a culinary school that was
for people that came out of jail and I
snuck my way in and instead of paying
40, 50, 000 a semester at the French
Institute, I paid like close to 2000
to 3, 000 in this regular small school.
And the best part about it is since it
was like a school for people that came
out of, you know, prison and all that
stuff, they got the most opportunities
to be able to be interns in some of
the best places in the city, right?
So.
After I did that program for six
months, I got an opportunity to
be an intern at the Food Network.
So when I entered into the Food Network,
that's when it really opened up for
me when I realized food has many
avenues, many different silos, right?
And so I worked at the Food Network
for three months during the summer.
I did Bobby Flay's show, Rachael Ray,
I did Iron Chef, you know, and I met
so many different types of chefs.
And, you know, I've always asked
them every time they would come
in, what makes a great chef?
You know, that was like my main question.
Super philosophical, but I was just
trying to get in their heads and figure
out, you know, how their mind works.
And the main thing they always kept
saying was that nature is the true artist.
Nature is the main reason why we do this.
So if we treat it with respect and
we just show ourselves on the plate
through nature, And we have nothing to
worry about, you know, our true selves.
And so, I also ended up living in
the library, which was amazing.
The library in the Food Network
is not a regular library.
It's a library of food.
And so they would have the whole
collection of the elderly cookbooks,
you know, all 12 of them, right?
And I would just lay everything down
on the table, Grant Hackett's cookbook,
French Laundry, Faviken, all types
of cookbooks all over the table.
And I would fall asleep during my,
during my break on top of the cookbooks,
like reading about their journeys.
And, and so I ended up creating
this checklist for myself.
I needed to work at a one star.
I needed to work at a two star.
I needed to work at a three star.
And I needed to work overseas.
And I also need to work in
New York because New York
was the big leagues, right?
And so I created this checklist,
and when I left the Food
Network, I hit the streets.
I read Eater every day.
I literally scanned through Eater,
read through who was the hottest new
chef that was coming up, or the brand
new restaurant that was coming up.
And I was the first at the door talking
about, how can I work for you, or how
can I work for free on my day off?
And so I did that for about three years.
So I had a full time job at a
small restaurant in the Lower
East Side called Rayuela.
And on my days off for two years, I
would do three month increments of
staging at different restaurants.
So I went to work for Christopher
Lee at Aureole and Charlie Palmer.
I was at Rouge Tomate when
they had two Michelin stars.
I was at Aquavit.
And then, and Rene Redzepi came to New
York with David Chang and Ruth Reichl.
And they were doing like a whole talk.
About the restaurant and I
don't know about Noma then.
Noma just got number one
restaurant, just got his cookbook.
I have no clue who this guy is and
the library was full of people.
It was filled.
All the best chefs from the Denmark,
the government people were there.
And I remember it was like
15 bucks and I didn't have it
because I was a broke cook, right?
I didn't have it and I was pissed
because some lady told me it was free.
And I was like arguing
with the lady in the front.
And it was like a whole thing.
I was making a scene just to,
just to see if somebody was
going to let me in for free.
You know what I mean?
And there's, I remember this
old black lady was like,
don't worry about it, honey.
Just skip.
Cause you saw me, I had my, my knife,
my, my knife roll in the whole nine.
And so I skipped and I sat down
and I listened to Rene Redzepi talk
about Noma and I just got caught
in the juice to tell you the truth.
I got caught in the storytelling.
I got caught in his, the way he talked.
I got caught in the way he treated people.
And on the Q& A part, I was the second
person up and I just asked him in front
of everybody, I think it was like 700
people, 600 people in the space, I just
asked him if I can go and work for him in
front of everybody and he said he couldn't
say no in front of all these people,
so that's how I got my Stagia Noma.
And so for maybe a year.
We kept in touch, and I worked
at two different jobs, and I
saved about close to 6, 000.
And I bought my plane ticket to Denmark.
Back then, they didn't provide housing,
so I had to find my own housing, which
was crazy, because I lived with, like,
a African freedom fighter, some lady
that was writing, like, stuff about
South Africa's corruption, and all
this crazy stuff, an Italian professor.
A Japanese kid that was
just randomly in Copenhagen.
We all lived in this house in the
middle of the hood in Copenhagen.
And Rene Redzepi kept his word.
And I think for me now, looking back
at it, there was like different things
that I remember about being at Noma
and like working at the restaurant.
But I think the main thing I really,
that stood out to me was seeing
Rene Redzepi there before everybody
else, making everybody breakfast.
And then like being able to like meet
everybody and say hello to everybody.
You know, he came from, you know, the
French Laundry with Thomas Keller.
He was with him for like a year.
So the Thomas Keller group has a thing
called shake in and shake out where
every chef comes in through the door.
You have to check in and then check
out everybody on your way out.
So he was really adamant about that.
So even though I was working for free
and I was some kid from the South Bronx.
He made me feel like a person that was
part of the team and he made me feel like
it was meant to be, you know, to be there.
And so, yeah.
And then after, after Noma, I came
back to New York and I thought I was
going to be the hottest shit in the
streets, asking for like 100, 000 for
salary and I was like, yeah, I just
came back from Noma and then everybody
was laughing in my face and said,
what are you, what are you doing bro?
And so I was like, I
settled for 12 an hour then.
And so that's what happened.
And so I ended up working at a
restaurant called Fedora in the West
village with uh, Mehdi Benkritly.
He was the chef at Au Pied de Cochon
in Montreal for about 10 years.
And so I learned about Quebecois
cooking and nose to tail cooking
and all that type of stuff.
I was with him for two years.
And then I opened Batard
with Marcus Blager.
Intense.
Cause you know, Marcus blocker
came from the Gordon Ramsey group.
So he was going for stars.
So I was waiting for a year.
I got one Michigan with him
and three New York times.
And then after that, I don't know,
maybe I was a sucker for pain.
So I went to work at first
day and then I was there for a
year working at a three star.
And then after I left that, I just kind
of like blanked out and like, didn't
want to cook anymore and like, I just
like took a month off and then I started
working for this restaurant group in
the Upper West Side that did almost
15 million just off of fried chicken.
It was ridiculous.
I mean, I've never cooked so much fried
chicken in my life and it was just
amazing to see a program like that.
And how much money you can really
make in a restaurant setting.
So I was with that group
for three or four years.
I opened another restaurant with them.
And then I got an opportunity to
work, to be the chef at Freeman's
restaurant, the Lower East Side, which
is like a very prominent restaurant.
It's been around for almost 30 years.
I was the seventh chef
on the, in the lineage.
And so I was there for two years, opened
one of their small cocktail restaurants.
And then I opened two more restaurants
for Claus Meyer after that.
Open the restaurant, comedy club and a
farm to table restaurant at the same time.
And then the pandemic happened
and then I had to make a switch.
And luckily I did a food
media back in the day.
And so I slid into Brad Leone's DMs
and I told them Bon Appetit wouldn't
get back to where it was until you
get somebody like me on your team.
And he said, you're right.
And then that's how I got
my job at Bon Appetit.
And so I worked at Bon Appetit
during the pandemic for about a year
and a half doing the video work.
And that's how I survived the pandemic.
And then 2000 and maybe
21 Brookfield properties.
I don't even know Brooklyn properties,
but they're one of the biggest
real estate company in the world.
And they bought five
blocks in San Francisco.
Worth close to 1.
5 billion.
And they had a building that was a three,
a commercial building that they needed
an anchor restaurant, the bottom of it.
And they were in the middle of Soma, which
is south of market where all the Filipinos
lived and displaced all the Filipinos.
So they needed a Filipino savior to
come in to make them not look like they,
you know, made a bad business decision.
So I came to San Francisco to open a huge
Filipino restaurant, 4, 000 square feet,
close to 6 million for the build out the
whole nine, worked on it for three years.
Got to the finish line and then London
Breed in San Francisco made us do
all the paperwork all over again.
I said, I can't, I can't wait no more.
So I left San Francisco and that was
kind of really, really hard because, you
know, I was embedded in the community
now, you know, I'm a community guy.
So, and so, oh, and
between all of that stuff.
I had a nonprofit that I taught
kids on my days off about how
to become social entrepreneurs.
So I ran a nonprofit for 10
years from 2013 to like 23.
And then I came back to New York and
I said, maybe I should do something
back here, you know, like 20, summer
of 2023, 22, 23, and I realized New
York, New York, wasn't it, wasn't it at
all disgusting what the landlords were
trying to do to people, disgusting what
they're trying to do, the small business,
and I didn't want to be part of it.
And so I came to Austin just for
vacation and to check everything out.
But then the chefs found
out that I was here.
All the restaurant, restaurant
owners found out I was here.
And then I ended up doing tastings
for a bunch of restaurants.
I don't know why, but the fam hospitality
group really resonated with my ethos
and what I was trying to do in the
Filipino food and what I was trying
to do in the Filipino community.
And now we are in the process of
opening a restaurant, which is going
to be a full blown Filipino restaurant.
And I think it's going to be, uh,
the first mid level casual Filipino
restaurant, not like your regular mom
and pop spot, but something with very
much operators from the Jose Andreas
group to, to any group of Chicago.
Like we have some big hitters on the team.
So I think we're super
excited about building it.
And then, and then that's my career.
That's where I'm at now.
Sandra P.: Wow.
I feel like you have lived.
And what I appreciate about a lot
of chefs is you just live like nine
lives, like you just going through
your entire kind of career there.
And I know men and I could
spend probably Multiple many,
many, many, many hours with you.
And so we're gonna do our best to
do your career justice over the next
hour here and talk about and break
down some of those key milestones.
I do want to make one comment, though.
I something that stuck out to me.
And you said, you know, I
knew college wasn't for me.
But as when you were talking
about your career and your hustle.
All of that.
That's exactly what college is about.
Right?
Like you were talking about studying,
staying hours up, reading these
cookbooks, studying abroad, right?
You went to Denmark and you
lived a full college life.
So give yourself credit because
you definitely hustled and you
built your own school life.
So amazing.
But yeah, we.
Amazing, amazing career.
And we'll, we'll kind of dive
into that a little bit further.
Minh V.: Yeah, like Hustler comes to
mind just the whole time that you were
sharing about your experience and stuff.
But one thing that I wanted to kind of go
back even further, And kind of get into
pre this journey that you just described.
You mentioned that you were
born in the Philippines.
I'm curious, how long did you stay there?
What was it like growing up there
if you stayed there long and do
you ever, do you ever go back?
Chef Harold: Yeah.
I'm from a small province
called Mandurriao in Iloilo
city on an island called Panay.
So I'm from Visayas and I grew up
there until I was nine years old.
Okay.
Thank you.
And then I moved to the South Bronx
directly, my mom, she's super famous.
She's one of the first original nurses
that was part of the American program
where first she served in Lebanon during
the war, and then she was part of that
main group that went to America that
started the kind of the floodgates
for all the nurses to come into
America and be part of that program.
And so her first stop was the South Bronx,
which was one of the worst hospitals and
whatever in the city, Lincoln Hospital.
It was just hilarious to be the only
Filipino family in the South Bronx
and how we had to really assimilate
and my mom was adamant about that.
She was like, you need to learn English
fast and you need to be out here with
your skin tough because you're going to
come after you, you know what I'm saying?
They don't know you and
they're going to attack you.
So we really had to like hustle and
we really get into that mental of
trying to be Americanized in a sense.
But also just trying to
be able to like survive.
And, you know, the early nineties,
I was, I came to New York 1994.
So, you know, it was really
right in the middle of it.
The South Bronx was still
burning, you know what I mean?
And so we were all part of that and
yeah, I just give it up to my mom and my
pops to like, you know, kept me out the
streets my whole life, you know, and.
Luckily, I surrounded myself with people
that, you know, cared about me and I
really didn't get caught up in it, which
I couldn't have, you know what I mean?
So it was cool.
Minh V.: Yeah, appreciate
you sharing that.
Was that, I mean, it sounds like a
little bit of a whiplash to go from
where you were, where you're growing up
in the Philippines to now South Bronx.
Like, can you talk a little bit
more about maybe like an example of
a memory that sticks out of like,
damn, we're not, you know, We're
not in the Philippines anymore.
Yeah, yeah.
Exactly.
Chef Harold: Oh, definitely.
I mean, we came to the South Bronx.
I remember it was like 5 p.
m.
and we were coming out of the taxi
and, you know, I still have slippers
on and I had my bowl haircut, right?
And I was pushing my cart by my
little luggage and hip hop music
was playing and the first song I
heard was Rene by the Lost Boys.
And I was like, man, this is really good.
Like storytelling, you know, it was
telling a good story and people were
still like by the trash cans with the
fire, like really old school, like kids
were still jumping on like beds, you
know, by the, by this open yards thing.
And there was like a center, I think
across the street from the house.
And so I just looked around and my mom
was looking at us and it was looking at
her and like, you gave us no warning.
There was not, none of this was.
None of these conversations was had
the 15, 16 hours we were in the plane.
Nobody said anything that this was
going to be the view coming into the
situation, you know, and what we, you
know, what we saw from New York was like
home alone too, or whatever, like this,
that was our, you know, New York, right.
But being able to see that, and
then in the next two days, go
to school was mind boggling.
I was in ESL class for like the first
six months just to get my English up.
Even though English was taught and.
In the schools in the Philippines, I had
to get my English up because my accent
was hard, you know what I'm saying?
And so being able to like do ESL, being
in that room full of like real like,
you know, like real immigrant situation
with other people from the Caribbean and
myself, and then just kind of getting
out of that room and then being able
to be part of like the mass general
population again, and like, it was
crazy, you know, and, and, and yeah.
Sandra P.: Yeah, that, that reminds me,
similar story, but I, when I was moving,
my mom didn't have a conversation either.
I moved when I was six and it
was just like, you get plopped,
no,
Sandra P.: no setting up, no like,
Hey, by the way, we're going to start
a new life here, the adjustment.
It's just like, boom, here you are, you
know, you mentioned your mom kind of the
trailblazer for the nursing industry,
bringing it to the U S did she pressure
you at all to go down this path or.
What kind of led you to explore?
I know you mentioned early on you,
you know, need to get some jobs and
you joined fast food and all of that.
But what was your relationship with food?
And why did you not pursue a
career in the medical field?
Chef Harold: Oh, I did pursue it.
I just, I just couldn't stand it.
Biology.
I didn't understand any of it.
Like, I mean, I spent maybe 2, 000 at
a nursing school and I moved to Utah
for like, seven years when I was, after
I was 18, I tried to go to a nursing
school and my mom was super happy.
She even bought me my, my first like 10
pairs of scrubs, you know what I'm saying?
But I just told her it wasn't for me, man.
This, you know, looking at blood
and all this biology stuff.
Like even though on the backend,
I would have made more money
than, you know, whatever.
But at the end of it, like, I
wasn't passionate about it at all.
My little sister went into it.
My big brother is in it still.
And so like, it's been part of
the family lineage, whatever.
But for me, I just always
enjoyed the hospitality part.
of the food.
You know, I remember when I was,
when we were living in the Bronx,
I was the one that would get
the pans ready for breakfast.
You know, I would make all the omelets.
I'd take everybody's order on a Saturday.
You know what I'm saying?
A lot of spam and rice, a lot of corned
beef, you know, eggs over hard, you
know, a lot of like things that little
kids are not supposed to be doing at
like nine years old or 10 years old.
But you know, I was in there
making already like eggs and
part of our culture too, like my
father's the cook at the house.
Not my mom, you know, and he
came up to the merchant marines.
So he was a cook at the merchant
marines and then moved his way up.
And so me and him were always in the
kitchen and, and doing all those things.
But like, yeah, I've always had
that like innate thing inside of me.
And I think once I was put in a corner
or behind a brick wall and like had to
decide whether go this way or that way,
I had to make a choice for my passion
and in this world, it took me now.
Minh V.: That's awesome.
Yeah.
And it, and it still seems that
you're able to draw inspiration for,
from what aspect of your family,
from your father, father's side too.
I loved reading a little bit more
about your community collective that
you talked about from 2013 to 2023.
For those who aren't familiar with
it, I wondering if you can just
share a little bit more about it.
I know that it focused on What I
read was like farm to table movement
and low income neighborhoods in
New York City, and then also taking
you to Copenhagen as well, too.
Yeah, what inspired.
Chef Harold: Yeah, I think,
you know, I've always been that
type to always, what's next?
What can I, how can I be
better than I was yesterday?
You know what I mean?
So, one day I was working at Fedora
and the restaurant, I was working at
West Village, and the farmer came in
with these beautiful mushrooms, I'm
talking about, Chanterelles all the
way to Morel's all clean, not dirty.
And I said, how did you grow these?
And he was like, Oh, we grew them in a,
in a shipping container with sawdust.
It doesn't get the dirt.
I said, I'm like 27 years old
and I'm finding about this now.
And so.
In my head, I'm like, I need to do
something because the kids in my
neighborhood, all they know is, is Cheetos
and Coca Cola and bacon, egg and cheeses.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, I'm cooking foie gras and quail
and all making pasta from scratch.
Like, you know, these
things need to be passed on.
Somebody's got to do something.
And so I just decided to just.
I don't know, man.
We had this Halloween party at
my house, and one of these guys
I met, his name is Joaquin.
He was one of the original members of
Alice's Waters Edible Schoolyard, like
the original, original in the Bay Area.
And so we linked up, and we just
started talking about the issues and
how archaic the educational system is,
and how archaic our food system is.
And then we just decided, you know
what, let's just do something.
And so the first thing I did was I went to
a school and I told, you know, we pitched
it to a principal and the principal was
like, that's fine if it gives, you know,
one of my teachers like a day off to
like relax from these crazy ass kids.
And so we taught like
a fourth grade class.
We didn't go to school to be teachers,
none of it, we had to write a whole class
thing, you know, and he went to college so
I made him do all the writing, you know,
I just kind of be the mouthpiece, and
then we just taught this one class and we
came out of it super inspired, like super
inspired, and so we just started pitching.
We pitched to mad different schools
and we were our aim was all the
new charter schools where all the
principals were from the school of
thought of like super innovative wanted
to open something up to their kids.
And so one of our first
schools was up in Fordham and.
She was an amazing principal.
She just let us, she
just let us do whatever.
First was an after school program, where
we taught kids about, you know, where
their food came from in my life as a chef.
And then what we ended up doing
was, we started breaking down my
life as a chef, and how I got there,
and then we started making silos.
And we started doing class teachings
with each one of those silos.
And so one of the silos
was like staging, right?
So I called one of my chef friends.
I'm like, yo, can I bring some kids
down from the South Bronx to come to
this one Michelin star restaurant and
like learn about how to make ice cream.
Cool.
And so, you know, one of the
chefs, his name is James Kent.
Rest in peace.
He was one of the best
chefs in New York City.
He was the first one to say yes.
And he let me come to the Nomad
and we were on the top floor.
I remember to this day, to the top floor
of the restaurant and he would make ice
cream from liquid nitrogen and it was
smoking everywhere, you know, turning
the ice cream and these young kids from
the South Bronx were losing their mind.
You know, they were like, I
can't believe you can make ice
cream just like that instantly.
Right.
And so we started
creating this curriculum.
Then we ended up just being passed
around from school to school.
We went to Smellman school up in
North Bronx where the affluent
people of New York send their kids.
So we taught Jerry Seinfeld's kid.
And then after that, we went to the
Dwight school, which is an Upper
West Side, which is one of the
highest private schools in the world.
And we ended up really flushing the
program and that school, because our motto
was Using a high end school to make our
mistakes and then making the curriculum
much smaller and then giving it to the
public schools who basically for free.
So we were just using
the Robin hood method.
And then we were, did that program for
five years while doing all of that.
One of my friends in high school
worked for the, the UN and she's
part of the state department.
And I was like, listen, I'm
going to Denmark to go speak at
the MAD Symposium, which is René
Redzepi's yearly symposium for food.
And I was like, I don't
want to waste my time.
I just don't want to go
there for the MAD Symposium.
Do you know anybody at the embassy
that we can sell this to so they
can pay us so we can keep coming
back to Denmark and like doing this?
And so we ended up
meeting with uh, to the U.
S.
Embassy in Denmark.
The person that was underneath him
was the guy that we pitched the idea
to and bust to find out he was like,
uh, FBI undercover drug guy and he
just loved the idea of this like, you
know, lowbrow highbrow kind of thing.
And we were like doing like gang
signs to each other and it was crazy.
I still remember to this day.
It was some wild, that's another story.
We got to tell, we got to tell you
about the story about the night before.
That got us to that morning meeting
that we almost didn't make, but that's
a different podcast, but that was crazy.
Sounds crazy.
Minh V.: Yeah.
Chef Harold: So we met the
guy, sold him the idea.
And then we became, I became
the culinary ambassador to U.
S.
Embassy of Denmark.
And so with my own regular chef salary,
I was also getting paid by the state
through the programming that I was doing
in New York with the state programs.
And then the feds was paying me
also through the federal program.
And then I was traveling to Denmark.
Twice a year and then teaching
kids that were immigrants coming
from other countries about the U.
S.
Hustle I did that for five years and then
during that time too I went to the summit
in Switzerland the financial summit and
then that's where I met David Hertz.
Who's the head of Gastromotiva in Brazil.
He feeds the homeless in this like
refettorio which is also part of Massimo
Bottura's refettorio uh, situation.
And so we ended up creating a program
together called Social Gastronomy
Movement, which we opened in Chile,
Sweden, Denmark, New York, Miami.
And so I was traveling while I
was working as a full time chef.
Traveling all over this country and
then setting up these programs, feeding
the homeless, teaching the kids.
Minh V.: Oh, Harold, like, where do
you find the time to do all of this?
Because my next question here, and I'm
like, not to add more on your plate,
and I know you're starting new things
in Austin, but I'm like, is, is that
an interest, I guess, in the future?
Not saying that you gotta do that
now, but like, how, how, How involved
do you hope to be, I guess, in,
in the Austin community as you, as
you continue your projects here?
Chef Harold: Well, I mean, when
I first came to Austin December
of 2023, I know the rules.
You can't just come into a city and
act like you're the big dog without
checking in with the community.
You know what I'm saying?
So I made the calls.
I introduced myself to all of the
Asian Asian Chambers of Commerce to the
Filipinos even did a free dinner just to
introduce myself and, you know, really
just wanted to build the community.
I think the main deal now is
this restaurant is not only
going to be a restaurant.
I want it to be a place like a
community hub, you know, these hot
summer nights or these hot summer
days, you know, it could be a place
where people could come and hang.
We can have activations in a
sense of panel talks to all
that kind of stuff in the space.
I'll provide the food,
you know what I'm saying?
And then just like.
I feel like we're at the table,
but we're like at the kid's table.
You know what I'm saying?
We're not the Thanksgiving
table, you know?
So I think it's time to say we can't keep
waiting to get into the big boy table.
We're just going to make our own table.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, we're just going to make our own
table because Asians are all over the
place like this, all types of Asians.
There's not just not one
type, you know what I mean?
So I think.
That's where I wanted to, that's where
I wanted to come to, you know, South by
Southwest is a great activation time.
All of the Asian, uh, holidays
are great activation time.
The restaurant is right there on
6th Street in Medina, and we can
get permits to shut down that block
and throw some block parties, you
know, we can do a night market.
We can set up like huge, we
let people really understand
what Asian food tastes like.
It's just not ramen.
It's just not Thai food.
It's just not that.
You know what I'm saying?
Like people really need to feel
like you need to understand
Asians through our food.
You know what I mean?
So I want it to be a platform.
For everybody to be able to be successful
and also, you know, to be all, to show
off, you know, to show off the skill set
and, and talk about where they're from.
Cause I feel like Austin's
becoming more and more diverse now.
Since I've been here six months, I've
noticed a lot of different people coming.
Laotian restaurants have opened to
Cambodians, you know, there's a bunch
of Vietnamese people here already.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, you know, I feel like the
Vietnamese people are just holding
back, you know, they're just giving
you like the fun, but I'm like, yo,
bring the stuff on the back out.
You know what I'm saying?
Let them, let them, let them really
taste some nok cham, let them really
taste like, you know what I mean?
The chili, let them really sweat it out.
Let them feel it.
You know what I mean?
Like, so I think that's where, I think
that's where the conversation starts.
Now, let's really start
to create a standard.
Of what this looks like.
So Austin, not only is a great city
to live, but we can also celebrate our
history, our culture and do it together.
And I want that to be for my son too.
You know, I want him to be able to like
grow up in a space where he doesn't
have to be afraid or ashamed of being
something, you know what I'm saying?
And I just want him to be true to himself.
So,
Minh V.: yeah, for sure.
And what a beautiful new piece of this
story with your son to be able to make
sure the community that he's able to
grow up in is is a good one as well, too.
So that.
Yeah.
One other thing that I think
is interesting to me about your
story is that, you know, you
started with the food network.
You were mentioning
how impactful that was.
You then were Cooking and working in
all those amazing different restaurants.
And then after COVID you went
to Bon Appetit kind of back
to food media a little bit.
And so there's this like interesting
thread of more traditional,
maybe the culinary industry, and
then also this like food media.
And then I see, too, you have the
Food Hustler, a new web series coming
out on YouTube, kind of talking
about the opening of this restaurant
and, and different things like that.
How important do you feel the
collaboration between food and media is
and how do you hope to be able to use
that to, to, Amplify the work that you do.
Chef Harold: Yeah, it's very important.
I mean, nowadays, especially with
social media and, you know, content
is king, you know, and you have to
always be relevant in that sense.
Right.
And, you know, some people
don't like doing it because it
takes a lot of energy, you know?
So when I put cameras in front of people,
sometimes they try to revert back to this
kind of Asian quietness that we're always
thought of, you know, and I always give
them a little pep talk before all of it.
You cannot change who you are from
this point to when the camera points
on you because you don't want people
to meet you in the street and see,
then you gotta keep turning off,
turning off on, on, on this kind of
image of who you're supposed to be.
You have to be true to yourself.
You have to know who you are right now
because the camera is going to show that.
So it's really, I'm trying to
help fellow Asian chefs that
are a little bit more timid.
I try to help them like you got to get up
front of it because at the end of the day,
you know, like if you're not going to be
in front of it, you're going to run over.
You're going to get forgotten.
You know, there's going to be
this big wave and then you're
going to be swallowed in it.
You got to be on top of the trends.
And I think it's, it's very important
to tell our stories in that sense.
Minh V.: Yeah, I appreciate that.
And it, it very much is similar to
kind of the story of me and Sandra
wanting to create this podcast and
just put the power back in our hands
of telling our stories, people in our
community stories and amplifying that
as best as we can and not wait around
for someone else to, to do that for us.
You know, so I appreciate.
I appreciate that.
Sandra P.: I would say one of the,
I think, staple and most important
things to Minh and I, and again, why
we invest our time into this podcast
is recognizing those that are really
giving back to the community, right?
Like, this, the Austin Asian community
is very tight knit and very protective.
And so one of the things I like that
you mentioned was you're very hyper
aware of giving back to the community
in which you're building a business in.
And I know in one of your own
episodes, you're talking about finding
sustainable farmers and vendors and
things like that, that you're going
to be using at the new concept OCO.
We're interested in
learning a little bit more.
How are you making those decisions
of who you're bringing to the
table, who you're investing in?
How are you selecting the vendors and,
and the folks in the farmers that you're
really going to bring into this concept?
Chef Harold: Yeah, I think it really
just comes down to going to the space
and seeing how they treat the products
and being able to say, this is how
we're going to work together because
you're treating this product properly.
And the other way we did it too,
is knowing some of the vendors
that are already here, especially
the Asian vendors, right?
Minamoto, M&T and all those
old school vendors up in North
Lamar and all that stuff.
We have a tight connection with them.
And so our products, Asian products
wise, they're definitely have the funk.
Oh, they definitely got the fuck.
Oh, we definitely got the fuck.
Oh boy.
I seen a fish sauce with fish in it.
That's some real sh I was like,
ah, this is first time for me.
And so, you know, we really are trying
to hone in on, on those aspects and
really spending our money properly to the
spaces that need to be spent on because
obviously we can't do it alone, right?
We got to do it together, you know?
So once, once again, If we're
growing, the vendors are going to be
growing and we try to attract people
that have the same values as us.
And so, you know, Farming the Table, Mr.
Green's, Heritage Seafood, which
has been working with, with local
farmers and local fishermen.
And so, yeah, we, we just try to
do our best to make sure we take
our products here from Texas.
And then also, you know, with the
Asian products, we definitely try
to link up with the Asian markets
and buy our products from them.
It's probably the only way we have
for us to get Filipino flavored
stuff anyways, you know what I mean?
Like, we were discussing if we're
going to make our own banana
ketchup, or we're going to be
buying the bulk banana ketchup.
So that's the one thing I'm like
paying attention to, you know, if
we want to be hyperlocal with our
menu, you know, we got to be super
smart about who we can build with.
And maybe we can even build some of those
Asian products with the farmers that
we're working with now and see if we can
create our own little plot of land to
grow these like Asian products, you know?
All those things are in
the conversation right now.
Sandra P.: Yeah, I love that.
I was laughing when you were saying
the funk and it reminded me of a
conversation we've had with Sherry Kong.
She owns Mama Kong Cambodian.
Uh huh.
Sandra P.: But I know when she was
launching her concept, there was a
little bit of fear of, Really putting
out real authentic Cambodian food, right?
Like, let me tell you,
this ain't New York.
Okay.
So like Austin cuisine, the food,
all of that, there, there's a
reason there is momentum, right?
And, and we're seeing that and we
love that chefs like you are coming
in and wanting to push the envelope,
but you know, you coming in new, do
you have any fear about introducing
banana ketchup to this crowd?
Chef Harold: I mean, I think from
what you've seen through my career,
I think fear is just part of my
life, failure is part of it, so
I've never been scared of failing.
That's, that's number one.
And number two, I did my work and
I did kameyans, I did like six
kameyans before I even, even thought
about opening a Filipino restaurant.
First of all, the concept was supposed
to be South Asian, and then we just
decided to go Filipino hard on like
two months ago because of the pop ups.
And the best part about the pop
ups was Thank God, not only was the
room full of Filipinos, the room was
full of Austenites, people that just
wanted to see what was going on.
And then when they started eating
with their hands, all this food
on the table, all the stink
spilling, all the sauces everywhere,
their clothes getting all dirty.
It was all like part of
the experience, right?
From that point on, every pop up.
The first pop up was like 45
people, next it was like 65 people,
and the next one was like 130.
And so we used that as a market piece
to understand now the marketplace for
it is ready to have something like that.
Obviously this Filipino restaurant is not
going to be super in your face Filipino.
We want to introduce things slowly, but
we're also introducing products that have
never been done with Filipino food before.
So a little, like a little snippet
into the food, like we're doing like
an adobo, but we're doing it with lamb.
What I realized is everybody
can make chicken adobo.
Everybody can make pork adobo.
That's easy, right?
But how can you make lamb adobo and
make it edible enough and soft enough
and and make it remind you of those
things or of those of those nuances?
And so we're doing these type of things
to the food, but then the depth of the
flavors underneath it, the depth of
the story is more in the middle of it.
So you'll fill it in your belly instead
of like filling it in your mind.
You know what I'm saying?
Minh V.: I feel that that's a
really thoughtful way to approach
how you're going to be introducing
some of these flavors and, and
ideas to, to folks here in Austin.
One thing when I was doing a little bit
of reading that I found really admirable
is that you kind of talked about the
Escoffier system that's found in a
lot of, lots of the culinary industry.
And I'm gotta admit, like,
I'm a little ignorant to this.
to the industry a little bit.
My first introduction was really
seeing it on the show the bear
and kind of that hierarchical
system and kind of way of working.
And I can definitely see how much
it could take a toll on the mental
health of staff at all levels.
Have you seen a shift away from
this in COVID and what are some
new trends that you see happening
in the kitchen these days?
Or how do you hope that your
new concepts could be different?
Chef Harold: Well, that's a
great question because You know,
we talk about that as a chef.
We talk about that all the time.
That's part of our culture building,
essentially as part of our checklist,
our pre opening checklist now, you know,
I think COVID was a horrible thing, but
also it was great that it leveled the
playing field a little bit for most of us.
Brown and black folks
never had an opportunity.
To be in the forefront before in food.
Never.
I swear to you, I swear to you, it
would have taken another 10, 15 years
before we even get an opportunity
for somebody to invest in us.
You know what I'm saying?
COVID really opened that up.
Now, if you, if you look at the
statistics, a lot more brown and
black folks are getting James
Bond nominations than ever before.
All right.
And so I think that was one
thing that really helped us.
And then all those people that
were toxic to the industry
left because they didn't have.
Most of those people that are toxic
in the industry, all they believe is
in this food, this food, uh, food,
food, food, uh, kitchen life, uh,
screaming at the people, da, da, da, da.
So when COVID happened, you
had no outlet for any of that.
So you had to leave it and
do something else, right?
And so that also helped.
So now the people that are left.
In the space are the young chefs
like myself that are now old
that are now seasoned chefs.
And now we see that that
thing does not work.
It does not work.
Even people like Daniel Boulud and Thomas
Keller who hire screamers, who hire.
Very toxic people have
also pulled back on that.
And now their conversation is a lot
different now because they understand
that if they don't treat the people right,
there's no manpower to push the cuisine
or push their agenda or their brand along.
And so for us, number one
has always been culture.
When I linked up with the hospitality
group, that was one of my bottom lines.
We needed to take care of our people.
We need to pay them a livable wage.
And we also need to give
them opportunities to have a
life work balance, you know?
Like, you know, we want to give them
an opportunity to, to really maximize
what this really means to be a chef.
You don't want to be a chef.
At 65 still cooking on the line.
And like, that's crazy.
You know what I mean?
And shows like the bear really showing
the, the spectrum of it, you know,
and seeing as in you, they're really
showing the post traumatic syndrome
stuff that happens, this industry was
built off of a militaryistic system.
So any of those things that come
out of the military is part of it.
So PTSD coming out of like, coming
out of like the pandemic, it's true.
There's a lot more chefs dying, you
know, like it's crazy, you know,
like we're not saving lives here.
We're not like doctors or
anything like that, right?
We're not in the middle of gunfire,
but people are still dying, you know?
And the one thing I really wanted to
end up happening is really putting
the chef industry or the hospitality
industry in the professional realm.
You know, we want people to think
of it as a profession now, instead
of it just being a passion project.
Because with passion comes with, with
passion comes neglect sometimes, you know,
you try to treat people lesser than what
they are because you think you have more
passion than them, you know what I mean?
So I feel like if we work harder
and put the hospitality industry in
a place where they can take care of
people, they can, you know, Give people
opportunities to be successful and I
think that's been our only job as chefs
as craftsmen and this whole thing is
give the space better than how we got it.
And Rene Redzepi told me that
before I left 12 years ago.
Sandra P.: I think those are
such profound words when you
said with passion comes neglect.
I think across.
Any industry, I think you can see
people who just drill themselves
into the ground because of passion.
Right?
And so I appreciate that
you called that out.
Look, Haro, thank you
so much for joining us.
And one of our questions we like to ask
every single one of our guests, and I
would love for you to share is, what does
your AAPI identity mean to you today?
Chef Harold: Hmm.
You know, I didn't really identify
Filipino until maybe eight years ago.
To tell you the truth, that's real.
I was black and Chinese for a long time.
And, and that's how, you know, that's
how I got all the girls back in the day.
But anyways, that's another story.
But I think AAPI identity now, I
feel like I'm just a spoke in his
wheel, you know what I'm saying?
I'm just here to keep this thing going,
just to help it go and just get it
ready for the next generation, you know?
Like, I think that's my
identity, it's this legacy part.
And I think that's where I'm
focused on now, is how can
I leave something for a kid?
You know, so you can be somewhere in
a good space, but also leave something
for our culture and for the people
that came here with us and be able
to leave that kind of legacy behind.
Minh V.: I appreciate that.
Where can our listeners find you?
Do a, do a little plug for how to stay
connected with you or, and you mentioned
in September, we should be on the lookout.
Chef Harold: Yeah, definitely.
I'm on Instagram, Chef Harold De La
Rosa, YouTube, Uncle Harold's TV.
And then September, hopefully, we're
opening OKO, O K O, on 6th Street in
Medina, at the old Ah Sing Den Space.
It's gonna be a full
blown Filipino restaurant.
So we're gonna have a lot of
smell good stuff coming out the
kitchen, you know what I'm saying?
Just expect that.
We're super excited to
introduce it to the community.
We're super excited to be on that side
of 6th Street, and be able to represent
that so we can really, you And it feels
like it's gonna be a good block, you
know, Sweater is on there, Kanji is on
that block, you know what I'm saying?
So I think Sixth Street might
be, you know, might be a
nice little block here soon.
So
Minh V.: yeah.
Getting some good culture over there.
Chef Harold: You know what I mean?
Like the culture block.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
And I'm really talking about this,
you know, this block party situation.
Minh V.: Yeah.
Chef Harold: That sounds
like a lot of fun.
Minh V.: We'll, we'll definitely
be on the lookout for that.
I think that that'll be, I think
a lot of Austinites will really
be drawn to something like that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Minh V.: We wrap up our episodes
with a little rapid fire.
So first thing that comes to mind,
we got three questions for you.
What was one of your favorite
Asian snacks growing up?
Chef Harold: Oh, uh, uh, Tahoe?
It's a tofu snack with caramel and boba.
Minh V.: Alright, let's go.
I haven't tried that yet,
but that sounds really good.
Where do you like to have
fun so far in Austin?
What parts of Austin have
kind of spoken to you?
Chef Harold: Man, let
me tell you something.
Any Fleet Coffee location, I'm having fun.
I got, gotta love Fleet Coffee.
I love it.
Nice.
I drink so much of it.
Yeah.
Wherever, whatever location
they're at, I'm having fun.
Minh V.: That's, that's really good.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And last question.
What does self care look like for you?
What's like an example of how you
treat yourself, I guess, especially
with all that you've got going on.
Chef Harold: Yeah.
I think coffee, a good movie
at Alamo Drafthouse, and then
a dinner at some random place.
Some new, some new place, random place,
something new that I just want to try out.
So I think that that's a good day.
Minh V.: That's awesome.
All right.
Well, Chef Harold, we really
appreciate your time being with
us and sharing more of your story.
What inspires you?
It's been really great getting to
know you a little bit more, man.
Chef Harold: Thank you so much, guys.
I'll see you, uh, I'll see you in Austin.
Sandra P.: We talked about this
extensively on the episode, but I just
love, it just fills my heart and my cup
to know that individuals that do move to
Austin really want to give back within
the communities that they kind of live in.
Move to, and I think it's really admirable
that Chef Villarosa has focused on also
creating a lot of these educational
programs for students and into schools
and learning about where their food comes
from, because I think that's just an area
of interest for me lately, thinking about
getting your little frozen pizzas and
your mozzarella sticks and all that stuff.
Like, we have no idea
where our food comes from.
And to even think about that
while I'm in grade school.
You know, you're 10 years old, you
have no idea what you're consuming.
And it's kind of wild to me of
how much processed stuff is just
built into that or, you know,
longevity and all this other stuff.
But anyway, I just really love
this concept of teaching kids
of like, being able to actually
grow the food, see it, eat it.
And I think us just as an adult and
just culture, things are really shifting
where we're really curious about where,
what we're putting inside of our bodies.
So I love that these programs that
he's building up and continues
to invest in is important to him.
Minh V.: Yeah, I think having that type
of education or having the things that
Chef Harold was bringing to his community.
would have been super helpful.
And hopefully there's more of that
to come in Austin as well too.
But the other thing that I think is really
cool that we touched on is just thinking
about a new way to have a safer and more
conducive environment in the kitchen.
Talking about The old school way of
this kind of militant, yes, chef type
of thing and seeing how there's other
ways to work in the kitchen and build
culture, build teamwork and do really
great work still, but maybe doing it a
little bit more mindfully, I suppose.
Sandra P.: Yeah, absolutely.
I think it's a great space to think about
mental health and taking care of yourself.
And I love that again.
Chef Harold's really is also emphasizing
this and thinking about when he and
intentional when he's thinking about
building teams and his staff that he
emphasizes that with them as well.
So kudos to him.
Minh V.: Well, we're looking forward
to seeing how this new venture and
concepts goes and yeah, it's always
good to see more Asian representation
on the east side as well too.
So thanks for listening y'all.
Sandra P.: See y'all soon.
Bye.
Minh V.: Bye.